Chicken Basics - Tidbits of Wisdom

One of my previous Buff Orpingtons, named Ash.

Yesterday I was talking with someone I know who is considering getting a couple of chickens. In talking about it, I was surprised with the number of misconceptions and misinformation that is out there about raising chickens. With that in mind, here are a few basic tidbits of wisdom for the novice chicken parent:

• Hens do not need a rooster in order to lay eggs.
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• Chickens do not have to be brought inside for the winter.
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• Chickens have to a have a coop... you cannot get by with only having a run.
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• The coop and run needs to be predator proof. Predators can come under, through, or over the top of a coop and/run (think everything from raccoons to hawks).
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• You will need to buy feed for chickens that are kept in a coop and run. They can only forage and feed themselves if they free range (wander around in a very big yard) all day. 
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• Different breeds of chickens have different temperaments, laying abilities, etc.
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• If you keep chickens in a run, you will not have grass there. The chickens will scratch it into a tiny dirt lot.
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• Chickens poop.... a lot.
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• Chickens can make wonderful pets.
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• Free range chickens will keep the bugs in your yard at a minimum, but are open to being snatched by predators.
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• Chickens can fly over small fences (about five feet or less - we learned this the hard way when one of our chickens flew into the dog pen).
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• Chickens will put themselves to bed at night... heading to the roost in their coop.
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• Hens are not silent. Besides low clucking they give loud cackles when they lay an egg.
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• You can't just throw baby chicks into a coop. They have to be in a brooder, have a heat lamp, have special chick feed, etc.
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• Roosters don't just crow at dawn... they can crow all day long... and they can be loud.

There is probably a lot more I could say, but I hope this gives you a start. Keeping chickens is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. They are fascinating and lovable, and it is easy to become addicted to these beauties!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

One of my goals for this year was to gain control of my weight. I am doing this in the hopes that I will be in better health and more active, and therefore, better able to achieve my hopes and dreams for my little homestead. I have lost 14 pounds since January 1!

Years ago I had great success with Weight Watchers. Since it worked before I went for it again but with a few differences this time. Instead of attending weekly meetings, I am logging in to Weight Watchers Online, which is less than half the price. I am also doing my food a little differently. Last time, I lost weight by purchasing processed single serve frozen dinners, meats made of soy, and other "fat free" items.

This time, I want to be a little more deliberate about what I eat. Although I'm not  in a place to go on a raw foods diet, I am trying to incorporate more vegetables and fruits. I am still eating real meat, but I am doing it much smaller portions. The farther along I get in this weight loss journey, the more lessons I am learning and the more I am becoming "in touch" with my food. I plan to haunt my local farmers' markets and my own gardens this year.

This way of losing weight has made me lose slower, so hopefully I will be able to keep it off this time. I am enjoying trying to find new recipes that fit with my healthier eating status. One of my favorite new snacks is an ice-based (as opposed to milk or yogurt based) smoothie. This recipe was given to me by a co-worker, and I thought I would share it with you.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries
1 banana
1 tablespoon honey (try to use local honey if you can find it!)
2-4 tablespoons of turbinado sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 cups ice

Pulse ice in blender until it looks like snow. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. I have a Ninja blender (blades at three levels) so this only takes minutes. But in my old blender it took 15 minutes or so. Pour into a cup and sip with a wide straw.

* If you are watching your weight you can take out the honey, use only two tablespoons of turbinado sugar, and use Trop 50 or fresh squeezed orange juice.

Chicken Coop: It's DIY beginnings

Scrap wood in the back, brand new lumber under the plastic. 

What is this, you ask? Well, that's me showing off my new drill that I bought on a Black Friday deal, but more importantly, that is a pile of lumber... carefully covered with plastic to ward off the rain and ice.

That pile, folks, is the beginning of my chicken coop! If there is one thing I miss most about our old homestead, it's the chickens.

Yesterday I placed an order with a friend (since we both needed to order enough chickens to keep them warm during transit). Which means I need to get the brooder and coop built soon! The chicks are due to arrive the last week of March. Sounds like plenty of time to build a coop, right? The problem is that a) I am building this completely on my own and b) we are having cold, rainy, and/or icy weather every weekend.

Ronnie shows me how to use my circular saw.

Two weeks ago I started the coop. I asked a neighbor to come over to show me how to safely use my circular saw, and then I got to work. I worked all day Saturday to build the frame. After cutting numerous studs and nailing about 75 nails into 2x4s, my arm was in pain. So were my thighs from crouching to do all the nailing.

The next day, I leveled the frame onto a cement block foundation. I couldn't quite get the hang of this and ended up having to ask my neighbor to come help. Then I nailed down the plywood floor. So basically, it took me all weekend just to build the floor. It doesn't look that impressive, does it?

I used new lumber for the joists and scrap lumber for the inside braces to save money.

And then the bad weather started. In the last week and half we have had snow, ice, and a lot of cold temperatures. Not huge amounts, but enough to keep me from working outside.

See the ice on the clothesline? And the ground?

Let's hope the weather gets better soon or my poor little chicks won't have anywhere to stay!

The smallest tools

One thing I've learned on the homestead is that sometimes the smallest, most unassuming tools can be a great help. Case in point:  this metal tray with two huge magnets on the bottom (upside down in this photo). 

When you are constantly working on new DIY projects - especially if you are using old scrap wood full of old nails - your yard sometimes ends up full of sharp, metal things that can cause a flat tire on a lawn mower in no time. 

This thing only cost about $5, and it has proved invaluable. I simply go over spots in the yard where I have been working and it picks up metal objects. (This is a good job for a small boy, too!) Recently, I burned a small pile of scrap wood that had rotted and couldn't be used. Then I took this little guy and went over the spot. See what came up?

I ended up with a whole bag of rusty nails that could have otherwise been embedded in a tire!

Book Review: Daybreak

Daybreak Avon Inspire; Original edition (February 12, 2013)
by Shelley Shepard Gray



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold over thirty novels to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Harlequin, Abingdon Press, and Avon Inspire. She has been interviewed by NPR, and her books have been highlighted in numerous publications, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for HarperCollins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. Her recent novel, The Protector, the final book in her “Families of Honor” series, hit the New York Times List, and her previous novel in the same series, The Survivor, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Shelley has won the prestigious Holt Medallion for her books, Forgiven and Grace, and her novels have been chosen as Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/Literary Guild Book Club. Her first novel with Avon Inspire, Hidden, was an Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.

Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.

When she’s not writing, Shelley often attends conferences and reader retreats in order to give workshops and publicize her work. She’s attended RWA’s national conference six times, the ACFW conference and Romantic Times Magazine’s annual conference as well as traveled to New Jersey, Birmingham, and Tennessee to attend local conferences.

Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page


ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Viola Keim starts working at a nearby Mennonite retirement home, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with resident Atle, whose only living relative, son Edward, is living as a missionary in Nicaragua. Viola understands the importance of mission work, but she can’t imagine leaving her father in the hands of strangers. Even though her family is New Order Amish, it’s not the Amish way, and though she doesn’t know Ed, she judges him for abandoning his father.

But when Ed surprises his father with a visit, Viola and Ed both discover an attraction they never expected. Despite her feelings, choosing Ed would mean moving to a far-off country and leaving her family behind. She can’t do that. Her twin sister, Elsie, is going blind and will need someone to care for her all her life. Her family is reeling with the recent discovery that her grandmother hid her past as an Englischer. Her father seems forgetful and distracted—and to be harboring some secrets of his own.

Does Viola dare leave them all behind and forge her own life? Or will family ties mean her one chance at love slips away?

If you would like to read a first Chapter excerpt from Daybreak,go HERE.